Presently existing electrical plugs are very common and vital components providing a convenient and safe way to quickly provide power to electrical devices.
There are situations where plugging a device into a outlet can be somewhat difficult; one such example is attempting to align a plug to an electrical outlet where the outlet is obscured by darkness.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,533 (2001) to Major discloses a flashlight plug which is an illuminated male electrical plug & cord. It is designed to illuminate an electrical outlet while a user is in the process of attaching the plug to the receptacle. Drawbacks to this device include: disclosed in the form of a plug/cord, it cannot be used on existing devices without replacing the original electrical cord. Considering the vast difference of electrical cord designs, including mounting, strain relief, amperage ratings, and differences of electrical attachment found on electrical appliance power cords, providing this plug/cord with a safe and suitable universal design could become a very daunting and expensive proposal. Incorrect installation of the Flashlight Plug may cause potential for electrical shock and damage to the appliance. If not provided by the manufacturer as original equipment, to mount this plug/cord on an existing appliance may void a warranty (for equipment with a warranty). Even if this plug were designed to replace the plug component of an existing power cord (cutting off the plug and attaching the Flashlight Plug to the end of the power cable), the same hazards and shortcomings as mentioned above may still apply. For appliances using a wall mount transformer, this plug/cord, or plug only, is of no practical use. While this plug may be a useful device for a manufacturer to install as original equipment on electrical appliances, it has very limited use as a replacement cord or plug on the vast majority of existing appliances. Additionally, once the Flashlight Plug is installed onto an appliance, it becomes a semi-permanent component of that appliance and cannot easily be unattached for use on other electrical devices.
It becomes apparent that an illuminated adapter for receptacle illumination, designed for temporary attachment to existing power cords can be useful and provide substantial improvement over an illuminated power cord or plug. No illuminated adapter designed for receptacle illumination could be found in the prior art.